ASBESTOS VERSUS REFUGEES
Walter Jacob
QUESTION: The congregation has found some asbestos in its religious school and discovered that it can be contained at a modest cost, but some parents have demanded its removal, which would cost several hundred thousand dollars. At the same time, other members of the congregation have petitioned vigorously to use these funds for the rescue and resettlement of Soviet Jews . What would tradition see as more important— the health of our children or the rescue of the Russian Jewish immigrants?(Nora A. Ellenson, Philadelphia , PA )
ANSWER: Let us begin by looking at the mitzvah of pidyon shivuyin(the redemption of captives). Tradition has considered this a major mitzvah(B.B. 8a), and Maimonides , for example, cited a long series of Biblical verses to prove how significant the mitzoah was(Yad, Hil. Matnot Aniyim 8:10; Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 352). In the talmudic citation the rabbi permitted funds to be removed from a designated charity to this purpose, as it was so important. Even if the funds had been specified only for the rebuilding of the Temple, they could be diverted for the sake of redeeming captives. The literature, then, unfortunately, felt it necessary to deal with the order of priority among the captives. Obviously there often were insufficient funds to rescue everyone. The primary importance of this task has been very clearly established by tradition.
Now let us look at the matter of health. It is a duty for all Jews to look after their health and for that matter the health of